Farmers Express the Importance of VEETC in D.C.

November 18, 2010

Just as the “Lame Duck” session gets started this week, farmers will be traveling to D.C. to personally explain to congressmen and women why our country needs to renew VEETC, the volumetric ethanol excise tax credit.

“We will be meeting with them to stress the importance of ethanol to the economy in South Dakota and agriculture as a whole as they consider extending ethanol tax incentives,” said Keith Alverson, a farmer from Chester, SD. “The ethanol industry is producing an alternative fuel that is benefiting the environment with cleaner air, increasing our home grown fuel supply and reducing our dependence on foreign oil.”

With the United States still recovering from the recession, additional job loss to a young industry in America would be a devastating blow.

“The ethanol industry is providing 400,000 plus Americans with good paying jobs and a large number of those jobs and our domestic fuel supply will be at risk without the renewal of VEETC,” added Alverson. “Renewing VEETC will allow our nation’s economy to grow through additional green energy jobs as advanced biofuels production continues to expand.”

South Dakota’s representatives have always been big supporters of ethanol and the tax credit, but Alverson and other farmers hope to have conversations with members of congress from urban districts.

“It is important for those of us in agriculture to visit with our members of congress that might not be familiar with the issues affecting the rural economy,” said Alverson. “Even with much opposition, the facts remain, VEETC is absolutely vital to our countries continued success at competitively producing a clean-burning alternative to oil.”